Some of us achieve “newspaper fame.” We recognize some for their “heroic virtue.” (Catechism, 828, 1723)

Those two categories overlap, and that’s another topic.

“Newspaper fame” can last longer than Andy Warhol’s “15 minutes of fame.” A few folks earn much more lasting recognition. Millennia after they lived and died, we remember Homer, Yan Ying and Himiko. Some of us, that is.

Then there’s Jesus. Two thousand years after he lived and died, a sizable fraction of humanity call him “Lord,” among other titles.1 I’m one of them.

I think what our Lord did is important.

That doesn’t explain why I review what we know about Jesus before each winter solstice. Along with well upward of a billion other folks.

And it sure doesn’t explain why we’re still watching and waiting for our Lord’s return.

After two millennia, we might have decided our Lord wasn’t coming back. Some have.

Building the Civilization of Love

Building a better world starts within me, with an ongoing “inner conversion.” (Catechism, 1888)

Not that I expect to single-handedly change the course the history, establishing truth and justice throughout the world.

I’m just one man, living in central Minnesota, with very little influence on world affairs. But I can suggest that treating others with respect makes sense, and that working for a better future is an option.

That’s one reason I keep suggesting that generosity, kindness, and sharing make sense. So does planning for future generations. (Catechism, 1937, 2415, 2419–2442)

The job will take time, lots of time, since it involves radical ideas like peace, solidarity, justice, and liberty:3

“…We must overcome our fear of the future. But we will not be able to overcome it completely unless we do so together. The ‘answer’ to that fear is neither coercion nor repression, nor the imposition of one social ‘model’ on the entire world. The answer to the fear which darkens human existence at the end of the twentieth century is the common effort to build the civilization of love, founded on the universal values of peace, solidarity, justice, and liberty….”
(“To the United Nations Organization,” Pope St. John Paul II (October 5, 1995))

We haven’t made much progress in building his “civilization of love” in the 22 years since St. John Paul II said working together made sense.

That’s hardly surprising. I am quite sure this will take centuries. Millennia, more likely.

We’re further along, sharing the best news ever. Maybe it’s more accurate to say that we’re a bit further along.

Acting like love is a good idea is still hard. We’re far from convincing many, including ourselves, that we’re all neighbors. But I think we’ve made some progress in the last two millennia.

I also think we will be waiting, working, and sharing a message of hope and love for a very long time. And that it will be worth the time and effort.

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About Brian H. Gill

I'm a sixty-something married guy with six kids, four surviving, in a small central Minnesota town. I mostly write and make digital art. I'm only interested in three things: that which exists within the universe; that which exists beyond; and that which might exist.

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